Oilsands' thirst for tradespeople remains relentless

Alberta's boom times are expected to return as soon as next year. And pipefitters, who work in all sorts of industrial processing settings, will be among the most in demand.

Photograph by: Thinkstock
, working.com

The economic downturn in Alberta was good to Doug Jones.

The apprenticing pipefitting student at SAIT Polytechnic moved from the East Coast to Alberta eight years ago and has been working ever since.

But it wasn't until after 2008 that his career took off.

"During the recession when everybody was getting laid off, I made the most amount of money that I've ever made," says the 26-year-old new father.

So what's his advice to those looking to recession-proof their careers?

Head north.

Jones is weeks away from completing his apprenticeship to become a journeyman steam-and pipefitter.

And while he's once again found work in the city with a hospital, employed in a unionized position for his trade, he spent a good portion of the last two years in camp near Fort McMurray plying his training in the oilsands.

"It was my first time taking a job up north, and they were paying me large dollars to be there."

Jones says his future looks bright -and he's not alone. Alberta's boom times are expected to return as soon as next year.

"In Alberta, oil and gas is what drives a lot of what goes on in the rest of the province, and that's certainly true in the trade related areas," says Darrel Hilman, academic chair of pipe trades at SAIT.

"The projections going forward starting next year and for the years to follow are it's going to be a very tight labour market."

Pipefitters, who work in all sorts of industrial processing settings, will be among the most in demand. Hilman says many will be heading to the Fort McMurray region for work, which will also open jobs in the Calgary area.

And this time around, it's expected the competition to hire skilled workers in all related trades will be even more fierce than the run-up to 2008, he says.

But the need isn't just for pipefitters.

Plumbers and gasfitters will also be in high demand. As the oil and gas industries expand, so too does everything else _ from residential construction to building schools, roads and hospitals, he says.

"We are looking primarily for beginners in the apprenticeship," she says.

"We provide them with two weeks of free training before they go to work and are indentured."

The union has contracts with several oil and gas companies, and apprentices new recruits.

Starting wage is $23 an hour with benefits and pension.

"We will have quite a bit of work," she says. "There is the potential for new people to go out to work right away, and it's just going to get busier."

But it's not just the trades that will be scarce going forward. Experienced heavy-equipment operators will also be hard to come by, says Jeff Knight, general manager with Slimdor Contracting in Cochrane.

In fact, they're tough to find right now, he says.

The construction contracting firm works primarily on large infrastructure projects. The name of the game for the past few years has been retention for most contractors in the industry, says Knight.

"A lot of firms are doing everything they can to keep their top guys," he says about heavymachine operators.

"Finding just anybody has gotten easier, but finding the best is still near impossible."

During the boom, many companies were looking for "someone with a pulse to sit in a seat," he adds.

It was a less than ideal, since expertise at the job site in key positions is required to keep up with the pace of demand.

"With water and sewer, everything hinges on an excavator operator, so you have eight guys watching this guy trying to do his job," he says. "It starts costing pretty quickly if he can't do it probably."

Unlike other most skilled occupations in large-scale construction, heavy equipment operators are not part of the trades.

Training programs are generally three months, and while trainees get hands-on job practice, Knight says it can take years to build up the experience to be a lead excavator on a project.

Most contractors will hire new operators and develop their skills, but that takes time and money, he says.

"You can go to school and learn how to pull the levers, but you may not get a job as an operator right away," Knight says.

"You have to understand there are still dues to be paid."

Many of the high-demand trades, however, require an apprentice to find work with an employer to become indentured and receive in-class and extensive on-the-job training.

Many technical colleges offer pre-trades courses to help would-be apprentices get work.

"We are offering a new pipefitting technician course for the first time this year," Hilman says about the SAIT program.

"It will give you the theoretical training for the first two years of the apprenticeship with a good focus on the hands-on learning."

The course, along with similar ones for other trades, is now accepting applications for fall and winter courses.

Hilman says the pre-employment courses are a good way for potential tradespeople to get a foot in a shop door and get indentured.

Jones says it's a path to a career that worked for him. He took a similar course in Nova Scotia before arriving in Calgary.

"I didn't wait for graduation; I just came straight out, and started working," he says.

Newcomers to pipefitting, however, should expect at first to work out of town -particularly in northern Alberta, where there is always work for skilled workers, he adds.

"For someone who is young and single, it's just awesome because you make a killing," he says.

Alberta's boom times are expected to return as soon as next year. And pipefitters, who work in all sorts of industrial processing settings, will be among the most in demand.

Photograph by: Thinkstock, working.com

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